High school football: Knights ride into postseason with win over Viewmont

LAYTON — The playoffs are nigh upon us, but region 1 still had a lot to settle on Friday night. The Northridge Knights secured fourth place in the region with a 28-23 win over the Viewmont Vikings.

Coming out of the gate it looked like Northridge's offense would be too much for the Vikings to handle. On the first play from scrimmage, Junior Cole hit Chris Washington down the sideline for a gain of 41. After allowing Pani Maka'afi to run for seven, Viewmont was handed a present in the form of an incomplete lateral for a loss of six.

The Vikes stiffened up, and Dustin Grigg intercepted Cole, returning it to the 45.

Viewmont then marched down the field with the help of a couple penalties, and Kolby McCloyn took the option pitch 19 yards for the game's first score.

Northridge responded later in the quarter, scoring on a beautiful pass right over Washington's shoulder in the endzone, knotting the score at seven. After a three-and-out defensive stop, the Knights again lit the scoreboard with Cole putting the final yard in for a 14-7 lead.

While Northridge played great defense to finish the half, it was left with very difficult situations after seeing two snaps over the punter's head on fourthdowns. Viewmont's Anthony Tuli caught Ryan Workman's pass for the first, a 23 yarder, and kicker Austin Duncan added another three points. The Vikings went into half up 17-14.

After a defensive stop, the Knights went to work pounding the run. Maka'afi went to work gaining 40 yards over five plays, and added the final yard for the touchdown and a 21-17 lead. Maka'afi ended with 188 all purpose yards. Surely many bruised Vikings will remember No. 42.

"We just kept pounding it down their throats," said Maka'afi. "It really starts with my line."

Northridge's offensive line really controlled the line of scrimmage all night, with Gavin Farr, Cody Harris, Ben Knowles, Hayden Flint and Treven Gilley as the leading front five.

After a strong defensive stop, where Northridge surprisingly featured several pass plays despite a dominant ground attack, the Knights again found themselves on their heels with Viewmont driving. This time Northridge was too tough, though, and sealed the game with a stop on fourth and four near midfield.